Italian Education Mussolini example essay topic

Fascism is the philosophy that exercises a dictatorship through the use of violence. There are two main areas fascism deals with. An elitist approach that makes the peoples' will on a select group with a supreme leader who governs all. The other approach is the populist approach in which the government wishes to have all its people act out against the government's oppressors. (Baradat) Fascism came from the word fasces, a bundle of sticks that were bound to an ax, which was supposed to represent 'civic unity and the authority of the Roman officials to punish wrongdoers,' (web) There were three main philosophers who helped to shape the fascist theory, George Sorel, Friedrich Nietzsche, and George Hegal.

Sorel had the notion that societies became 'decadent and disorganized' naturally. This leading to the use of violence to prevent a decay of nation of this kind. Nietzsche had the theory that two moral codes made up the community. Then there was the ruling class, who created the great empires of the past. Then there was the oppressed class that contributed to the community by bringing in religious ideas and views. This class was also known as the slave morality.

Nietzsche also came up with the idea of the perfect man, 'overman,' who symbolized man at his peak in creativity and his highest intellectual range. The last influential philosopher was George Hegal and agreed with Sorel that war was a necessary thing that brought about unity to the state, while peace only gave way to a weak society. Fascist thinking lives on the idea that the group is working for the benefit of the community. It wishes to organize the government in an attempt to gain power in the state. All the people of the state work for the state's gain and nothing more. The state also in turn should be there for the people if the need arises for things such as food, money, and shelter.

(Baradat) Fascism emphasizes nationalism. (web) 'For Fascism, the growth of the empire is an essential manifestation of vitality. ' It is a governing system best suited for communities who are rising after many years of foreign servitude. (web) Military conquest was seen as a way to solve the nation's economic problems. The Fascist male was thought to be a Darwinian and not humanitarian. He should be tough, masculine, and concerned with the moral heath of society, and not be soft or feminine. (web) This type of authoritarian political movement developed on Italy and other parts of Europe after 1919. There seemed to be a large change in politics and socialism that were brought about by the declining social, economic, and political conditions of the country. (Baradat) Benito Mussolini was at the time the answer to these problems with his fascist views.

He had started out as a Marxist following his father but turned his sights on fascism around 1914. (web) Mussolini was born in Predappio, Romagna July 29th 1883. In 1901 he became a schoolmaster but was unable to find a permanent job. He was also arrested for vagrancy and returned to Italy were he did his military service. (gi. grolier. com) There he was promoted to sergeant but unfortunately was injured during grenade drills and returned to his position as editor of the newspaper 'Avanti' in 1917. (Baradat) As editor he gained valuable experience in propaganda which became very helpful in later days.

(Gi. grolier. com) In 1919 Mussolini along with several veterans founded the Fasc i de Combattimento, meaning combat group. This movement appealed to many of the lower middle class and it to took its name from the fasces. In 1922 Mussolini led his grand march on Rome where he then seise d power of Italy from a willing king. At first Mussolini ruled over Italy constitutionally but by 1924 he changed his tune and established a totalitarian regime. (Baradat) Mussolini had no real plans bettering the Italian economy and social problems. He did engage a wage reduction and workers also lost their eight-hour day protection.

He helped big business and in return had the support and financial backing of the wealth of Italy. He did however manage to make the trains run on time, end public begging, and offered well-publicized social services. All these things impressed foreign tourists but what the neglected to see was that the lower class's nutrition had dropped, there was an increase in child labor, and only a small percentage of the national income was spent on social services. Mussolini had a very specific role for women in his plan too; they were to produce as many children as possible. He believed that leaves children will grow up to be the nations military servicemen and he wanted a big strong military force. The average Italian couple produced eight children.

Mussolini even gave gold medals to mothers for their service for the nations well being. He made sure that women did not have good jobs so they could stay home and take care of the children. There was no education on birth control; in fact it was banned. (web) By now Mussolini had skillfully used his control over the press and made himself the 'Duce. ' He built up his image as Il Duce through the press with things like 'Duce, a man who was always right and could solve all the problems of the politics and economics. ' He also used his influence in the press to keep his power alive. The press, radio, education, and films were all and screened first by Mussolini to make sure that they manufactured the illusion that fascism was 'the doctrine of the 20th century that was replacing liberalism and democracy.

' Under his dictatorship, is what it had become; Mussolini dis guarded the parliamentary system. The laws were rewritten to suit his needs. Teachers had to make an oath to defend the Fascist regime. No one could practice journalism without a certificate of approval from the Fascist party, meaning they were supporters and would never write anything negative about the Fascist party.

During various times in his reign, Mussolini personally would take over the ministries of the interior, of foreign affairs, of the colonies, of corporations, of the army and the other armed services, and of public works. Often he held as many as seven offices at once. By doing this he kept power in his own hands and prevented the birth of any rival. (gi. grolier. com) In 1929 Mussolini had one of his greatest victories concerning diplomacy when he finished the Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Holy See. This settled a sixty-year debate dealing with the power of the Pope in the Italian sate. (Baradat) Tension however developed later between the two again, but this time it was over who consoled the Italian education. (web) Mussolini had formed a 'gang' of supporters who were uniformed with black shirts, and they became known as the Black Shirt Militia. These men would attack other gangs if they supported other theories that Mussolini disliked.

They also 'vandalized, terrorized, bullied, and on occasion took control of self-governments by force. ' It was through the use of this militia that he gained the support of the landowners. (Baradat) Originally Mussolini wanted to form an anti-Hitler front but because of his actions towards Abyssinia the League of Nations rejected him. His only other option was to seek an alliance with the Nazi Germany.

In doing so he became the subordinate partner to Hitler and had to follow the Nazi racial policy that led to the persecution of the Jews and also the creation of the 'apartheid in the Italian Empire. ' Even though fascism preached about the importance of war and a strong military, Mussolini had done nothing in preparation for upcoming war. He was totally unprepared for Hitler's invasion of Poland that started World War II. He did not jump right into the war because he knew his armies were not ready to fight, he waited until Hitler's arm had taken France to join hoping the war would only last a few more weeks. He then declared war in alliance with Germany. In his attack on Greece if was completely evident to everyone that he had not done anything with the military, and the Grecian's drove his armies out of Greece and Albania.

After this defeat he had no option but to follow Hitler when Hitler declared war on Russia and the United States. The Italians were being beat on all sides and Mussolini's colleagues and past supporters all turned against him. After the meeting of the Fascist Grand Council on July 25th, 1943 the king dismissed Mussolini from power and arrested him. Mussolini was then rescued by the Germans and put in charge of northern Italy, only as a 'puppet' of the Germans.

He eventually returned to his earlier ideas of socialism and collectivization. However, he also executed some of his former Fascist followers who had turned on him, this included his son-in-law, Galeazzo Cia no. Upon trying to escape to Switzerland with his mistress Clara, Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans and executed. Baradat, Leon. Political Ideologies.

New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1994. Funk and Wagnalls Multimedia Encyclopedia: Fascism. web History Sourcebook: Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932. web War II Commemoration: Benito Mussolini. web mussolini. html.